Senator Ivars Bičkovičs was elected to the Judicial Qualification Committee at the extramural conference of Latvian judges on April 18 from among the judges of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court.

Ivars Bickovičs acknowledged that he is not unfamiliar with the work in the self-government of judges. For 12 years, until his election as the President of the Supreme Court in 2008, he had been a member of the Judicial Qualification Committee and a deputy chairman of the Committee. He had also been the chairman of the Judicial Disciplinary Committee, as well as the president of the Latvian Association of Judges for 12 years. Following the establishment of the Judicial Council, he as the President of the Supreme Court managed also the Council. One of the tasks of the Judicial Council was to strengthen the role of self-governing institutions of judges and improve their performance. Life shows that this was the right direction, because, as Ivars Bickovičs states, strong self-governance of judges is one of the cornerstones for increasing public confidence that the judicial system can handle its own development, qualifications, ethics and disciplinary responsibility.

A member of the Judicial Qualification Committee from among the senators of Senate’s Department of Criminal Cases had to be re-elected as senator Artūrs Freibergs term had expired.

The Judicial Qualification Committee is a self-governing institution of judges that evaluates the professional performance of judges. It consists of 9 judges – three judges of the Supreme Court (one from each Supreme Court department – civil, criminal and administrative), three from regional courts and three from district (city) courts.

Members of the Judicial Qualification Committee are elected for a four-year term of office, there is no limit for holding repeated offices.

 

Information prepared by

Rasma Zvejniece, the Head of the Division of Communication of the Supreme Court

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: +371 67020396, +371 28652211